Of Mysteries and Moonbeams
by Allicat9
Summary: Life would be perfect-if it weren't for that letter...
1. Of Letters and Wishes

**OF LETTERS, AND WISHES**

Edward Lupin led a pretty wonderful life on the whole. He had a beautiful house, plenty of spending money, parents that loved each other and their children, a nice extended family that he saw often, but not too often. Yes, Edward thought to himself, he led quite the life. But unfortunately, that was all about to change. You see, Edward H. Lupin II was a young wizard, and he had turned eleven. Which ment that this year, he would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had already received his letter, his mum had already helped him pack his trunks (which were now stacked neatly at the foot of his bed) and his father had even gotten him his school things, ("Just swung by the Alley and got them for you son, now you'll be all ready to go- less stress on your mother."). And now, all there was left to do was to get on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow morning at exactly eleven o'clock, and he'd be off. Just the thought of it made him ill.

Sighing heavily, Edward threw himself onto his bed, bouncing slightly before stilling. It's not that he didn't want to go to Hogwarts; he liked the idea of it fine. His brothers and sister said it was the most wonderful place in the entire world, a place where witches and wizards like them could use magic all the time. He liked using his magic. It was one of his favorite things to do. But not even his excitement at that prospect could override his fear of leaving home.

He had never been away from home before. Never, not once, not ever. He didn't know if he could handle it. Sure Fabian, Ella and Arthur were there, but what if he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor? And even if he was, they were older- they wouldn't have the same schedules as he did!

Edward just wasn't a people person, not like his siblings. He chose his words carefully. He liked ideas more then conversation. He knew this about himself, he accepted it. But there was a nagging fear inside his heart that no one else would. What if not one person liked him? He'd be all alone at school. All alone. He wished he never got that stupid letter!

With a groan he rolled over; burring his face in his pillow. It would be a nightmare, he could already see it.

"Hey Ed-you'll never guess what just happened!" Arthur cam bursting into their room, a muggle spark plug in one hand, his wand in the other, a huge grin across his face, "What's wrong?" He said as soon as he saw his little brother, stopping short at Edward's bedside.

"Your not 'sposed to use magic outside of school Art." Edward mumbled into his pillow without even sparing a glance towards his brother, "You could get in really big trouble."

"Naw," Art waved his off and plunked down on the bed, "Mum and Dad are magic too. And it's impossible-"

'To detect underage magic in a magical household, yes _I know_." Edward said impatiently, sitting up and glaring at his brother, "but it's still _the rules_ Art."

"Whatever Ed, you're such a spoil sport," Art grinned good naturedly back at his brother's somber face, "Any way; ya wanna see what it can do?"

Edward couldn't help the small smile that twitched across his face in response of Arthur's enthusiasm, Art's grin was infectious, and it was impossible to talk him out of anything, so one minds well enjoy the outcome, "Ok."

Flashing his brother another wicked smile Art leaped off the bed and practically sprinted to the center of the room, tripping over his too long robes in his haste.

"Ok." He said, when he had steadied himself, 'Prepare to be amazed!" Touching the tip of his wand to the end of the spark plug he yelled, "_Lucinedo!"_ before dropping the thing like a live grenade and diving over Edward's bed, pulling Edward with him as he did so.

Turns out, the whole "live grenade" comparison wasn't to far off. No sooner had they ducked behind the bed then the plug began to glow, first yellow, the orange, before turning a bright, violent shade of red. All of that, however was the precursor to the main event, because it hadn't been a second before the thing turned red then the entire plug exploded with an earth shattering BANG! And haze of red, pink and orange sparkles.

Stunned and still a bit shell shocked, Edward chanced a glance at his brother who's expression was a comical mix between triumph and amazement, but before either of them could say a word, their bedroom door burst open to revel their mother, holding their five year old sister in her arms and flanked by their younger brother William, who wore and expression on utmost delight on his chubby face.

"What on earth!" She shirked, eyes darting around the room, taking in the sparkles, the still smoking carpet, and her sons crouched behind the bed, "What on earth was that?"

"Don't worry Mum," Art said easily, getting to his feet, "Just a little experiment, nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?' She cried, a pained expression crossing her delicate features, "Art that sounded like it was going to take the roof off!"

'Yeah, sounded like." Arthur grinned, "But it wouldn't have, I'm sure of it."

"Art," She sighed, setting Glinda on her feet, 'I put up with your experiments because you havbe a curious mind, and I want to encourage that, but it's illegal for you to be messing around with magic during the summer." She sighed again, and extended her hand, 'Hand it over."

'But…but _Mum!_" Arthur cried, wide eyed, clutching his wand to his chest, 'I just got it back!"

'I know." She said, her voice a bit sharper, 'And you can have it back tomorrow, but we just redid the floors and I don't want to risk it."

Recognizing defeat when he saw it, Arthur reluctantly placed his wand in his mother's outstretched hand without further complaint.

"Thank you." She said straightening back up, "Now, dinner is in a few minutes and your father will be home before that, go wash up and I'll see you both downstairs." And with that, she took Glinda's hand and left the room, her blonde hair billowing after her.

"Tough luck mate." Edward said, patting a dejected Arthur on the back.

"And this one wasn't even that bad!" Arthur exclaimed, "Not nearly as bad as the time I accidently set you on fire!"

"Yeah, I'm still mad at you for that, I'd forgotten…"

"Humph!"

Edward and Arthur both looked around, looking for the origin of the huff.

"Stuff it William." Arthur said, narrowing his eyes at the small but rotund figure still standing in the doorway.

"It's no more then you deserve!" William said, strutting importantly into the light, "Mummy's _told_ you and _told_ you Art-"

"And I've told you and told you to stuff it." Art said menacingly, straitening to his full height, which was nearing six feet, quite amazing for a twelve year old.

Arthur took after his mother's father's family. Tall, thin and boney with red hair and freckles, a Weasley if there ever was one. Only he and Fabian looked Weasleyish, the rest of them were decidedly un-Weasley, favoring their father's side instead, with the exception of Glinda, who was the perfect little replica of their blonde, willowy mother.

Though Arthur was glaring daggers at him, his glasses hanging precariously at the end of his long nose, William did not seem perturbed.

"I'm not afraid of you Art." He smiled smugly, "You can't hurt me or Mummy and Daddy will be mad at you."

It was hard to deny the truth in his words. Mum and Dad did favor him. There had been a baby right after Edward that had died, and their mum had never quite gotten over it. When William had come along two years later, their parents had spoiled the little git rotten. He had been the baby for three years until Glinda had been born, and even five years down the line, was having trouble adjusting to her presence.

Satisfied by the look of barley controlled rage on Arthur's face, William gave one pompous little nod before he strode out of the room.

"I hate that kid." Arthur muttered, the dark look on his face marring his features. But the mood passed quickly, for in a moment he was looking back at Edward, his face now full of curiosity, 'What was bothering you before Ed?"

'What do you mean?" Edward asked, flushing slightly. He had hoped that in wake of the chaos that had characterized the last quarter hour, his brother had forgotten about his wave of melancholy.

"You know what." Art countered quickly, raising one thin eyebrow.

Edward sighed, "It was nothing, Art."

'it was most certainly not nothing." He replied, "Just tell me Ed, it'll make you feel better."

Just as Edward was about to relent, their mum's voice sounded from the ground floor, "ART, ED-DINNER TIME!"

As Art dashed out of the room to try and head off the others in the nightly scramble to the dinner table, Ed sighed. He would miss the comredery his siblings, especially Art, provided. He'd never have as good of friends at school that he had at home. Yes, he thought as he slowly followed his brother out, he wished he had never gotten that stupid letter.

SHOULD I CONTINUE THIS? YES/NO. REVIEW


	2. Of Dinner and Decisions

**OF DINNERS AND DECISIONS **

Family dinners were always quite an ordeal at the Lupin household. There were eight people eating at one table after all. And though their dining room was large, and though their dining table was long (father had placed undetectable extension charm on it after William was born), meal times always seemed to denigrate into chaos.

With that precedent in mind, Edward cautiously made his way into the family dining room behind his elder brother and just managed to dodge a flying ball of mashed carrots.

"WON'T!" Glinda shrieked from her chair, crossing her arms and stubbornly turning her little blonde head away from her father, who was still holding a spoon of mashed carrots.

"Hi there Eddie!" his father called cheerfully, unsuccessfully trying to guide the spoon into his youngest daughter's mouth.

"Hi dad." Edward smiled as he made his way past the table and into the kitchen, where his elder siblings were already lined up with their plates. His father was an amazingly patient man. Glinda was perhaps the most stubborn five-year-old on the planet. Usually she was sweet as pie, but when it came to eating, Glinda had very high standers and quite a discerning taste. Dad was the only one who could get Glinda to do anything that she didn't want to do. He said it had something to do with having plenty of practice with Edward's mother. For that comment, he had gotten himself 'permanent Glinda feeding duty', not an enviable task in the slightest.

Edward grabbed a plate from the counter and side stepped William, who was crying on the kitchen floor, surrounded by what had obviously been his dinner.

"Oh Edward there you are!" his mother exclaimed, turning from her place over the stove. Her long blonde hair was pulled back from her face and her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled down at her son. Behind her, the dishes continued to dole out dinner to his siblings.

"Hey mum." Edward grinned at his mother as he got in line.

"Make sure you all get peas!" his mother called, as she made her way into the dining room, grabbing William by the hand and helping him up. With a wave of her wand William's dinner was off the floor and into the bin. With another wave, a new plate full of food was procured, and William's wails quieted. Edward rolled his eyes as a ladle magically gave him a helping of mashed potatoes and a fork placed a chicken breast onto his plate on its own.

By the time Edward made it back into the dining room, the rest of his family was already seated. Dad at the head, Glinda to his left, Fabian (Edward's oldest brother), next to her. Mum sat to Dad's right, next to her sat William. Ella was the only sibling who could stand to be next to William for an entire meal, so she sat to William's right. Edward was the only one who could stand being next to _Ella_ for an entire meal, so Edward sat at the foot of the table, between Ella and Arthur.

"Now that we're all here," his father said when Edward sat down, "we can eat!"

"Thank God!" Fabian exclaimed as he practically dove into his food. Ella sniffed at her brother's poor display of table manners and tossed her long black hair over her shoulder before daintily picking up her fork and knife to begin eating, her prefect's badge gleaming on her chest.

"Cut my food Mummy!" William demanded. As their Mum obliged, Edward and Arthur glanced at each other, rolling their eyes.

"Cut your own food Chubbs." Fabian snapped from across the table.

"Fabian!" Mum exclaimed, nearly upsetting a bowl of gravy in her haste to make eye contact with her oldest son, "Don't talk to your little brother like that!"

"Sorry mum." Fabian growled, glaring daggers at his little brother, who was now smugly smiling through a mouth of mashed potatoes.

"And haven't I told you not to call your brother that name?" Dad asked, narrowing his eyes at Fabian as he tried to stuff a piece of chicken between Glinda's stubbornly closed lips.

"Yes you have." Ella said primly from beside Edward. Fabian shot yet another glare at his dark haired sister. Edward sighed. Ever since his sister had gotten her prefect's badge she had become quite the stickler for rules. Edward thought it was a little much. Arthur said their sister had gone from tolerable to barking overnight.

"Thank you Ella, but I didn't ask for your help."

Ella shrugged and went back to eating.

"So Edward," Edward looked up from his plate to meet his father's smiling face, "Are you excited to go to Hogwarts tomorrow?"

Edward swallowed, his throat seemed dry suddenly. He could feel Arthur's eyes on him as he struggled to find an acceptable answer for his father.

"You shouldn't be nervous Edward." Ella said. She had also been watching her brother with her hawkish grey eyes, "Hogwarts is a great place, I can't imagine a place I'd rather be during the year! _Isn't that_ r_ight Fabian_?"

"What? Oh, yeah, right…it's great!" Fabian said, tearing himself away from his food to look at his brother, "You're gonna love it Ed, there's lots of stuff to do."

"I remember I was nervous before I got on the train." Dad chimed in, "Your Uncle Harry pulled me aside and told me that Hogwarts was the best thing that ever happened to him. And you know what?"

Edward looked at him, "What dad?"

"He was right. Hogwarts was amazing. I know your nervous now son, but I promise, Hogwarts will be some of the best years of your life."

Edward tried to smile at his father and ignore the twisting in his gut.

Page Break

Edward woke in the middle of the night, parched. This was not unusual. Edward was a bit of a night owl, and going to get a drink of water in the middle of the night was sort of a tradition. He liked it. Everyone else in the house was asleep and walking from his room to the bathroom and back again without anyone disturbing him was a nice change from the constant noise of the day.

As per tradition Edward slipped out of bed, hissing a little when his bare feet touched the cool wood floor. Slowly, so as to not wake his brother who was snoring peacefully away in the bed opposite him, Edward crept towards the door and out into the hallway. As he made his way down the hall, he noticed that the light in his parents' bedroom was still on. He could hear their voices through the door.

"I just don't know, Ted." His Mum said, "He just seems so nervous, more so than the other ones were."

"He'll be fine Victorie." His dad replied. Edward heard the mattress squeak as his father sat. "All kids are nervous going to Hogwarts for the first time. He's going to be away from home for the first time in his life, of course he's going to be nervous."

"I wasn't nervous." His mother insisted. Edward could imagine her crossing her arms like she did when she was annoyed.

"Yeah, but you practically had your whole family going with you." His dad sighed.

"Edward had Fabian, Ella and Arthur going with him and he's still so scared." His mother said, "Do you know that he actually asked me if wizards could be homeschooled the other day?"

"What did you tell him?"

"Well, the truth!" His mother exclaimed, "I told him that it was possible, but that no one in our family had ever been homeschooled. The thought of it, honestly!"

His father's reply was too low for him to hear. Edward could feel himself shaking as he made his way back down the hallway and into his room.

His parents thought that he was too scared to go to Hogwarts. They were worried about him, worried about sending him even! It was true, Edward thought, as he snuggled under his blankets, that he didn't want to go to the far off magical school, but he didn't want his parents to know that he didn't want to go. He didn't want to worry them.

Was there something wrong with him? He thought as he stared up at the ceiling. Why was it that every magical child but him longed to go to Hogwarts? Why was he different?

Edward sighed. He needed to man up. He had to decide to be brave for his parents, even if it was just for tomorrow.

"


	3. Of Broomsticks and Kisses

**OF BROOMSTICKS AND KISSES**

"All aboard the Hogwarts Express! Last call for the Hogwarts express!"

"Merlin, we're going to be late!"

"We're not-does everyone have everything? Ella where's your badge?"

"I've got it! Where's Arthur?"

"You're right! Where's Arthur? ARTHUR!"

"I'm right here Mum!"

"Don't wander off Arthur, stay with the group!"

"Ok dad!"

"OUCH! Glinda don't bite!"

"Don't yell at your sister William!"

"But _Mummyyy_-!"

Edward ducked as Fabian turned around, narrowly missing getting knocked in the head with Fabain's broom.

"Mum! I'm getting on the train now!" Fabian called impatiently, placing one foot on the train steps as though to hoist himself up.

"Not without saying goodbye to your mother you're not." Dad grabbed Fabian by the collar and pulled him back onto the platform.

Mum chose that moment to burst into tears.

"I can't believe my babies are all grown up!" she exclaimed, wiping tears from her great blue eyes, "Fabian it's your last year already, and Eddies already eleven! I can hardly believe it."

"I know, where has the time gone?" Dad smiled, his hair turning blue as one of his arms circled Mum's waist. Edward smiled up at his parents. He had promised himself that he was going to be brave, and he was going to stay that way, at least until he was on the train.

"Ok, say goodbye now." His dad prompted.

Ella kissed both parents on the cheek before mounting the train. Arthur tolerated a hug from his mother and a clap on the back from his father and bounded onto the train and out of sight after his sister. Fabian had to endure a full two minutes of Mum crying into his shoulder before Dad pried her away. Finally it was just Edward, his parents, and his two younger siblings on the platform.

"All right Ed?" his father asked gently, placing one had on his son's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm ok dad." Edward replied, staring up at the great red train.

"It's ok to be nervous sweetie." His mother cooed, still a little teary eyed. "Everyone has something they are nervous about."

Edward took a deep breath, "I'm not nervous." He said firmly.

Mum leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. To his horror he felt his eyes start to well up. The thought of leaving home-of his mother not being there to kiss him goodnight (she did that every night, who would do it if she wasn't there), of his father not being there to answer any of Edward's questions-was unbearable. He clung to his mother and tried to talk himself into letting go. He knew he was acting like a baby, but he just couldn't bring himself to care. He knew he was breaking his promise to himself, and in all likelihood scaring his parents into never letting him do anything by himself ever again, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He just wanted to go home!

"It will be ok, sweetie," his mother whispered into his hair, "You'll see, it will be fine."

Edward nodded and took a deep breath. Slowly he disentangled himself from his parents embrace and walked towards the train.

"Good luck Ed!" His father called. Edward couldn't let himself turn around in case he decided to make a break for them. He stepped onto the train and was immediately hoisted up by the conductor.

"Almost missed the train son." The conductor smiled down at him with cheery brown eyes, "Wouldn't that have been a tragedy?"

_Would it have been?_ Edward thought as the door slid shut behind him.

"Edward! There you are!" a hand seized his shoulder and spun him around. Ella shook her head when he jumped and began to drag him down the hall.

"Where are we going Ella?" he asked, a bit breathless.

"I am trying to find you someone to sit with." She said, as though he was being slow.

"But I thought I was sitting with Arthur?" Edward asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

"No. Arthur is sitting with his friends." Ella frowned, glancing into each compartment as they passed. "You wouldn't want to sit with the older kids would you?"

Privately, Edward thought that he would very much like to sit with the older kids. He liked Arthur's friends. Ben Finnegan and Miles Kentwood stayed over their house before and Edward got along with them well. But Ella seemed determined to find him someone to sit with that was his own age.

"Ah! Here they are!" Ella exclaimed pulling open a compartment door. Inside sat three kids that looked to be Edward's age. One, Edward recognized, and he was very sure that he did not want to sit in that compartment. In fact, he was sure that he didn't even want to be in that half of the train.

Sitting there, looking at him like he was the scum of the earth, sat Ellen Potter.

"Ok guys, have fun!" Ella said, closing the compartment door with a bang and running off to do whatever it was that prefects had to do.

Slowly, Edward turned to look at his companions, only to be caught in Ellen's cold, angry stare.

"So. Lupin." She sneered, " This will be fun."


End file.
